Consumers Starting to Comparison-Shop for Health Care Services and
Treatments, According to New Survey

About 14 percent of U.S. consumers use online tools to
comparison-shop for health care treatments, procedures and services

New advances introduced for UnitedHealthcare’s myHealthcare Cost
Estimator, including mobile versions for the iPhone and Android
platforms

September 18, 2012 08:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

MINNETONKA, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Consumers are beginning to turn to online resources to compare and
evaluate the price of health care treatments, procedures and services,
according to a new survey released today by UnitedHealthcare.

The survey of 1,032 adults, ages 18 and older, found that about 14
percent of respondents report using online resources to comparison-shop
for health care treatments and services. More than 75 percent of
respondents say they use the Internet to comparison-shop for cars,
electronics, airline tickets and other consumer goods, illustrating that
an established practice with consumer products is moving into health
care pricing as the tools and information needed to compare health care
costs are becoming more widely available.

The majority of survey respondents – 60 percent – do not use the
Internet to research health care costs. Conversely, about 40 percent of
those surveyed have spent some time online researching doctors, clinics
and hospitals prior to seeking treatment for a major health care event.
Of those, only one in four spends more than three hours conducting that
research before a major health care event.

“People are starting to embrace the idea of researching and comparing
health care prices as technology is making it easier to gather
information about the cost and quality of treatment options in their
communities,” said Yasmine Winkler, chief product & marketing officer,
UnitedHealthcare. “This is a major step forward, considering very
little, if any, of this information – especially with this level of
detail – was publicly available to consumers just five years ago.”

UnitedHealthcare continues to enhance its myHealthcare Cost Estimator to
empower consumers with relevant information about health care costs and
quality. myHealthcare Cost Estimator is an integrated online service
that brings a retail shopping experience to health care and helps
consumers find quality care while being able to estimate the cost for
the most common treatments and procedures with maximum accuracy. The
latest advances include:

mobile versions for the iPhone and Android platforms, as more
consumers rely on smartphones and mobile devices vs. desktop or laptop
computers;

cost estimates for more than 80 geographic areas covering hundreds of
different treatments and procedures, including surgeries, lab tests,
radiology tests and office visits;

expansion of the custom “care paths” that provide a comprehensive view
of the appropriate treatment options, allowing consumers to evaluate
various treatments and select the option that is right for them;

the ability to compare quality and cost for more than 574,900
different health care providers and 4,275 hospitals.

“These advances for myHealthcare Cost Estimator are putting even more
relevant information at people’s fingertips and helping them make better
care decisions regarding treatment quality, options and prices,” Winkler
said.

More than 100,000 people have compared their treatment costs using
myHealthcare Cost Estimator in the last four months alone.

myHealthcare Cost Estimator, available to more than 17 million people
enrolled in UnitedHealthcare health benefits plans, draws on the
company’s actual contracted rates with physicians, hospitals, clinics
and other health care providers, giving consumers highly accurate
pricing estimates. Estimates are also personalized to reflect an
individual’s own health plan benefits, including their real-time account
balances when applicable.

About UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealthcare
is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by
simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and
wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care
providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit
programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid
beneficiaries. UnitedHealthcare serves more than 38 million people and
is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a
diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.